Starcraft II patch 3&period;3 will feature new co-op content and features

Fans of Starcraft II's Allied Commanders co-op mode will be excited to hear that new features will be coming to this game mode in patch 3.3. Among the update's features are: a new game mode called 'Mutation', Mastery levels, and possibly a new commander. What does this all mean? Read on to find out!

Mutation Maps

Mutators will change up co-op missions to make them more difficult than before. Some mutators will cause worker units to fall under the sleep status effect. Other mutators will cause the enemy force to be composed entirely of invisible units.

Commanders will want to get detection up and running as soon as possible in Mutation modes involving invisible opponents!

Two of the Mutation Challenges showcased in the video include: 'Train of the Dead', and 'Time Lock'.

In Train of the Dead, players will be fighting on a standard Oblivion Express map. The catch? Every time a unit falls in battle, several infested Terrans will spawn on that point. The more health the unit has, the more infested Terrans will spawn. To make matters worse, the fog of war will be replaced with pure darkness. That means enemies will have that much more of a chance of sneaking up on players.

Zombie-like infested Terrans will spawn every time enemy or ally units fall in battle. Who wouldn't want that?

Time Lock is a different ball game altogether. This Mutation Challenge is featured on Lock and Load, a map that is already considered one of the more difficult missions in the Allied Commanders roster.

In Time Lock, enemy units will move twice as fast, meaning players will have less time to react to enemy advances. This will certainly put a strain on players who have a hard time micro-managing multiple teams of units.

Furthermore, each lock will have multiple Mag-Mines planted around them. These mines - like in Campaign Mode - will lock onto a unit, then fire in a straight line toward the location the unit was detected.

To top it off, the enemy force will also have access to the Time Warp ability, effectively slowing down ally units, and preventing range damage. This will make battles over the locks terribly difficult for players who like clumping together their forces.

Why Blizzard? What did we do to deserve this?

Mastery levels bring new customization features

Blizzard fans who have played Diablo III are likely to know about Paragon Levels. These allow players to add bonus points to various abilities that heroes have. Starcraft II's Allied Commanders mode will host a similar in patch 3.3 called 'Mastery Levels'.

Just like in Diablo III, Mastery Levels will be shared among all commanders that have reached their maximum level. Depending on the commander various abilities will be available to be increased. There are 90 mastery levels to be gained, and at least 180 points worth of abilities to be powered up, so choose wisely based on your play style!

Abathur joins the fray!

Those with a keener sense of sight will have noticed in the video that Abathur is among the list of available commanders. While he was not officially announced as of yet, it's safe to assume that Abathur will be present in patch 3.3 of Starcraft II. What his abilities will be, however, has yet to be seen.

Remember, the Allied Commanders co-op mode is available to all players who own any version of Starcraft II, including the Starter Edition. However, only players who own the Legacy of the Void expansion have access to commanders beyond Raynor, Kerrigan, and Artanis.